Defense Secretary withdraws plea deal with 9/11 defendants

A plea deal reached this week with the alleged mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks, along with two of his alleged accomplices, has been retracted, the Pentagon announced Friday.

In a memo, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the "three pre-trial agreements" approved with Khalid Shaikh Mohammad — the man accused of planning the attacks — and Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, had been rescinded.

The memo was addressed to retired Brigadier Gen. Susan Escallier, the convening authority for military commissions who oversaw the deal. Austin wrote that he was withdrawing her "authority" in the case and reserving "such authority to myself."